“Departures” is a supernatural thriller and love story published as a serial novel with new episodes dropping every Tuesday morning. Anyone can read or listen for free. Paid subscribers gain early access to new episodes. Watch the trailer or visit the table of contents to browse all the published episodes.
Previously…
In the last episode, Wild, Millie, and Raina were flying back from the Amazon in the corporate jet Gerry had insisted they take. After her ayahuasca trip, Millie realized while talking with Wild that what she wanted most was to free them both of the burden of the family business by finding a way to completely restructure the company to redistribute the wealth among the 120,000 employees. She understood how much her father would fight her on this and Wild was forced to confess that Gerry had only a year left to live.
Trying to make a baby was a fun project in the beginning, but three months in, the novelty had worn off and their relationship returned to the downward trajectory that Wild could find no way to reverse.
He hated waking up in the morning. With every rotation of the earth, the wall of June’s eminent death blocked out more of the light and in its shadow, the dark petals of his depression unfurled and bloomed. This morning they had a particularly bad fight before she slammed the door and went to work. She hadn’t said the word divorce, but Wild felt the shape of it in the silences that punctuated her angry questions. She wanted to provoke him, wanted him to stand up and fight with her, fight for their relationship, and when he didn’t, she mistook his silence for apathy. There was a selfish part of him that wanted her to leave. If she left, he would be free of his burden and he wouldn’t have to watch her die. Maybe she would even be happy to be free of him and she could live out her remaining days in blissful ignorance.
He entertained this fantasy only for a moment as he lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. In truth, he would hold onto June until she could no longer hold onto him. Next month would be September, the month that marked the beginning of the final year of her life. This thought was enough to make him get out of bed and step into the shower. He was determined to be a better version of himself by the time she got home from work, though he had no idea how he could achieve this any more than he had yesterday. Maybe the better version of him was one that wasn’t waiting at home for her. What had she said? You need a fucking life, Wild. I can’t be your everything and spend every waking moment with you!
So, he would go out and do something to occupy himself and not be waiting on the couch like a lost puppy when she got home. He showered, dressed, and forced himself to eat a piece of toast with his coffee. He couldn’t afford to lose any more weight.
He needed a friend, someone to talk to about all this, but he had no friends left and even if he did, how could he possibly talk about any of it? It was almost noon when he got in the car and tried to decide where he could possibly go. He needed a distraction, but knew this was impossible. Maybe he could at least try to be productive. There were a number of things he had let slide in the past few months, most notably the obligatory quarterly visit he made downtown to visit his father at the office. He was expected to participate or at least to feign interest in the strategic maneuvers of Thorne Enterprises. What this typically meant was sitting through a briefing to go over what the company was buying or selling off. His showing up did not in any way change his father’s opinion of him, but it eased some of Wild’s guilt for just taking money every month. Maybe an unprompted visit would earn him a few extra points. He went back inside to change clothes.
Twenty minutes later, he had parked in the deck of 101 Peachtree, the headquarters of Thorne Enterprises, and he was in the elevator riding up to the forty-second floor. The elevator was filled with gray suits and an eye-watering cloud of cologne. Why had he even bothered to go back into the house to change before heading over? His navy blazer and wrinkled khakis might as well have been board shorts and flip flops. Fuck it. Most of the suits bailed out on the lower floors. As they exited, each gave him a look that was some combination of disdain and sideshow curiosity.
When the elevator chimed on his floor, he stepped out onto the Italian marble tile that extended to the front desk where a woman who could easily be a fashion model looked up and frowned with chilly disapproval. She was new. There was always a new one behind the desk and he always had to go through the same explanation, which always resulted in a rapid defrosting of the secretary’s initial greeting.
“Well, I’ve heard so much about you,” she said. “It’s so nice to meet you at last. Unfortunately, your father is in meetings across town today but…”
The secretary was interrupted when someone approached from the corridor behind Wild.
“Wild? What are you doing up here?”
Wild turned to find Eileen standing before him with an armful of files. He hadn’t seen her in almost a year and he had never seen her in a professional setting. She looked striking in this context and barely recognizable as the same woman who had worn nothing but sweatpants and hoodies in the year she had spent fighting for her son’s life. The bags were gone from beneath her eyes, her hair was pulled into an elegant bun on top of her head, and she wore glasses with stylish red frames. Somehow she had managed to reset her life and he was glad to see it.
“Hi stranger, look at you,” he said, opening his arms to hug her. “I just stopped by to see my father but apparently, he’s not here. When did you start working out of this office?”
“You two know each other?” the secretary interrupted.
“Yes, we go way back.” Eileen gave her a curt nod before turning back to Wild. “I passed the bar two months ago and then got asked to come over here to support the office of lead council.”
“That is impressive,” Wild said. “Hey, I came all the way down here for nothing it seems. You have time to grab some lunch?”
She gave him a look like the concept of lunch was something she had only read about. He could see he had put her in an awkward position at her new job so he quickly added. “It could be considered a working lunch if you can brief me on all the thing’s my father’s keen for me to know about the business right now.”
“Um… okay. Give me just a minute to print off some things and we can go somewhere downstairs.”
When they settled into a high-backed booth in the pricey steakhouse with dim lighting and dark wood paneling on the ground floor of the building, Eileen immediately opened the folder she brought along and was about to launch into a briefing she was not prepared to give and Wild was not prepared to receive. He reached across the table and gently pushed her hand down, effectively closing the folder.
“That was just a cover to help you escape for an hour. I don’t really give a shit about any of this. I show up once a quarter because it lowers my father’s blood pressure.”
The look she gave him was not generous. “Well, I do have to give a shit about it. I have to prove myself here.”
Chastened, he nodded and looked down at the tablecloth. The waiter appeared, told them the specials, and filled their water glasses. When he left, Eileen reached over to touch Wild’s hand.
“Are you okay? You look like shit.”
“Not really.”
“What’s going on?”
He sighed deeply, unfolded his napkin and placed it in his lap. “I uh… me and June… things aren’t good right now.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Her answer was formal. What was he doing here? She wasn’t really a friend. She was someone who felt obligated. He cleared his throat. “It’s fine,” he said, picking up the menu, and shaping his mouth in what he hoped resembled a smile. “So, what are we having?”
He looked up from the menu after she didn’t answer and saw that she was staring at him. “I’m hardly the person to ask for relationship advice. But I can listen. After all the balling I did on your shoulder, I owe you that much.”
“You don’t owe me anything. Please don’t look at it that way.”
“Okay, well let’s just talk.” She took the folder off the table and set it down on the seat next to her. He didn’t respond but looked down and studied his hands.
“I remember that day at the hospital you talked about some devastating secret you were keeping from someone you loved. I’m guessing that person must be June.”
“I can’t believe you remember that. You were going through a lot.”
“I remember every single detail about that day and the day that followed. It’s burned in my memory.”
“I can’t even imagine,” Wild said.
A silence fell between them as if to make room for little Marvin’s spirit to dwell momentarily before she took a breath and returned to the present. “So, am I right?”
“Yeah, you are. I thought I was tougher, that I could hold this secret, but I don’t think I can. Even if I can, I'm not sure it’s fair that I do.”
“You feel something about June, like you did about Marvin, don’t you?”
His gut squirmed and he felt queasy. He was crossing a line. But hadn’t he already betrayed June by keeping this horrible secret from her? How could he possibly make it any worse?
“If I tell you this, you’re gonna think I’m crazy and honestly…”
“Just spit it out.”
“I know June’s going to die next year.”
“What do you mean you know? Is she sick?”
“No, at least not that we’re aware.”
The waiter showed up and Wild waved him off without breaking eye contact with Eileen. Her brow furrowed and she bit the inside of her cheek. “That’s um, not something you can know.”
“No, it’s not. But I do. Forget for just a minute that this is insane and imagine it’s true. What should I do?”
He fully expected Eileen to smile politely, make an excuse about a meeting that had slipped her mind and leave, but instead she leaned forward and looked at him with a fierce intensity. “You’ve got to find a way to save her. You’ve got to do everything in your power to keep her alive.”
“But I can’t. Don’t you see? That’s not how it works. If it did, don’t you think I would have…”
She fell back against the cushion of the booth seat as if he had punched her in the chest. Her eyes were wide. “You would’ve saved my boy…”
Her face shifted through so many different currents of emotion that he had to look away. “Yes,” he said.
“I can’t… I can’t accept this. It’s nuts and I think you need help, Wild. You really think you can predict death? That’s not how things work. We have the power to change our fate.”
He wouldn’t argue with her. There was no point. “Let’s just forget I said anything.”
She nodded warily then sighed. “I’m trying here,” she said. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and straightened the knife and fork in front of her. “Okay, so let’s play out this thought experiment. You know the love of your life’s going to die and there’s nothing you can do about it. She only has a year left.”
“Yes,” he said.
“If I was June, I’d want to know. I think you’re trying to play God by not telling her and that’s what’s eating you up.”
He nodded slowly and tears welled up in his eyes. He covered his face with his hands but he was too exhausted to fight back the wave of emotion. Eileen got up and squeezed into the booth seat beside him so she could put her arm around him. She didn’t say anything, but held him until he was able to breathe normally. “I’m a mess,” he said.
“You are,” she agreed. “Does June know you have this thing? I’m not saying I believe you do, but does she?” Wild nodded. “Then just tell her. She’s a strong woman. If you tell her, whatever happens, you’ll at least face it together.”
The way Eileen laid it out, Wild felt like a fool for ever pursuing the course he had taken. They talked for another thirty minutes and never ended up getting lunch. Wild insisted on ordering her a filet with all the sides and a dessert to go. When they parted in the lobby, she squeezed his arm and smiled. There was a message encoded in that smile that made him feel he was not alone. When he got home, he felt lighter, and he was grateful to have a clear direction. He would tell June that night when she got home and whatever happened, would happen.
He dropped his keys on the kitchen counter and saw the red light on the answering machine flashing. He walked over to it and pressed the play button. There was background noise, like the lobby of a building and he could hear heavy breathing before June began to speak in halting sobs.
“Wild, I just came from my appointment and… I’m… oh, why aren’t you home? I need to talk to you. I’m scared. I’m leaving early today. I’ll be home soon.”
The message ended. There were no more messages. Wild stared at the machine for a long time before he walked over to the couch and sat down to wait.
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In the reality show competition for Houze, a revolutionary eco-home, six contestants face a winner-takes-all challenge. Beneath the surface of sustainability, altruism battles greed, turning a hopeful vision into a life and death struggle. Fans of “Nine Perfect Strangers” by Liane Moriarty will love this story.
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